Related Links

Kim Demmings posted a triple-double and the Wright State women's basketball team led by 17 with 5:29 left, but it wasn't enough as UIC rallied for an 81-78 overtime decision Thursday night at the UIC Pavilion.

Both teams found the scoring hard to come by in the early going as the Flames led 6-4 eight minutes into the game before the Raiders went on a 9-0 run on threes by Ivory James, Kayla Lamotte and Kim Demmings. UIC, however, regained the lead at 21-19 on a Rachel Story three and tallied the final four points of the period on layups by Marissa Grossfeld and Heidi Dahnke to take a 29-26 halftime lead.

Threes from KC Elkins and James put Wright State up 40-36 three minutes into the second half and WSU gradually built on the advantage from there, eventually going up 66-49 on a Breanna Stucke foul shot with 5:29 remaining in regulation.

UIC, though, stormed back to tie the game with 17 unanswered points in a 3:13 span, six of those coming from Katie Hannemann, and, despite the Raiders leading 71-67 on a Stucke free throw at the 16.1-second mark, forced the game into overtime on an Emily Kobel layup and a Hannemann putback on a Kobel missed foul shot.

Demmings opened the scoring in overtime with a layup, but that turned out to be the only lead in the extra period for WSU as Kobel broke a 76-76 tie on a three with 1:08 to play and Hannemann made it a two-possession game with a pair of foul shots at the 23.4-second mark.

Wright State had two chances to tie it in the final seconds, but could not convert.

The Raiders shot 44 percent from the field, including 12 of 29 from three-point range, compared to 36 percent shooting and five of 15 from behind the arc for the Flames, but UIC was 20 of 28 at the foul line while WSU was 12 of 23, including three of eight in overtime.

Demmings posted the first triple-double of her career as she finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Elkins added 21 points, all coming after halftime, while James had 10 points off the bench and Stucke chipped in nine points and 10 boards.

Hannemann led all scorers with 35 points for UIC (8-16, 4-7 Horizon), 27 coming after halftime, and posted a double-double as she gathered in 15 rebounds. Taylor Foulks had 12 and Grossfeld 11 off the bench.

Wright State (10-15, 4-8 Horizon) hosts Milwaukee Saturday at 4:30, which follows the WSU men taking on Evansville at 2:00.